Change Makers is an innovative programme which aims to break down barriers to opportunity at every stage for school children. It is led by Canterbury Christ Church University in collaboration with the University of Greenwich and the Kent and Medway Progression Federation. So far it has involved children from Hartsdown Academy, Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey, and Holmesdale School.

Change Makers is part of the University’s outreach mission to engage young people in Higher Education, raise aspirations, boost confidence, and help to increase GCSE subject attainment of students who attend the sessions.

Stefan Colley, Head of Outreach, said: It has been fantastic to see the brilliant work the Key Stage 3 pupils produced for their showcase. This project has been a perfect example of Canterbury Christ Church working collaboratively in the region, co-designing with schools a programme to help students find their voice, affect positive change on issues they care deeply about whilst working to improve their all-round literacy, reading, writing, and speaking skills.”

The Change Makers programme involved Year 7 pupils from schools across Kent who were encouraged to use their voices and creative skills to produce poems, lyrics and graphic novels to allow them to explore their identities and shed light on issues that hold personal significance.

Canterbury Christ Church staff and students then elevated their voices to create visual elements from their ideas and issues which were transformed into videoscapes, graphic panels and placards. Their work was showcased at an exhibition in the University’s Verena Holmes Building.

Harrison White, a Year 7 pupil from Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey, raised his concerns on mass shootings and the ownership of weaponry in the United States. He said: “I am very interested in politics. One of the UK’s closest allies is America. One of their main problems is weaponry so I chose school shootings as an issue that we should try to tackle as school children should not have to put up with that.

“I love having the opportunity to come to the University where I can express and try to make a change in an amazing place.”

Rosie Louise Jones from Holmesdale school said: “I was really excited to see our work and pick up our awards and see what we’ve achieved. My topic I wanted to talk about was to stop bullying because the way you treat others is important and if you treat people badly, it’s not nice.”

Mrs Chloe Tolley, Assistant Principal at Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey, spoke about the importance of the collaborative project.

“I’m proud of the incredible work our students have created,” she said.

“They wouldn’t have been able to have these opportunities necessarily in the classroom and seeing how proud they are and how they showed each other their work at the reveal was very valuable. To see our children’s confidence grow makes us so proud.”

Mrs Tolley added: “The change in our students with this project has been the confidence they have gained. They believe that their voices matter, they believe that their voices are being heard, they believe they can use their voices for change and they didn’t believe that six months ago – and that’s what makes projects like this really important. Just because they live a little further away and they’re not in a city they’re not given all those natural opportunities, they still are important and they are special.”

Leo McDowell from Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey said: “My topic was about racism because racism happens and you can’t stop it – it’s in schools, it’s in workplaces it’s everywhere and I think if we can try and solve the problem and not let it increase then this is what we need to do. It’s amazing to be at Canterbury Christ Church and have all these different opportunities.”

The Change Makers programme has been co-designed with the University’s School and College Engagement Team, Graphic Design course Director Will Hill, his students, Dr Finley Lawson, Education Development Lead, and Dr Tom Sharkey, Lecturer in the School of Law, Policing, and Social Sciences.

Jessica O’Caroll, a first-year Graphic Design student, was inspired by the pupils’ work. She said: “It was great to see them getting excited over their work. It was inspiring working on this project – listening, reading and looking at what they’d done in their comic books and making it into the real thing has been really wonderful. Putting their words and their work on display was fantastic.”

The University’s pioneering Inspiring Minds programme won the prestigious NEON Widening Access Initiative (Outreach) Award las year, in recognition of its success in engaging young people with Higher Education, raising aspirations, boosting confidence, and helping to increase GCSE subject attainment of students attending. Inspiring Minds is a leading engagement and outreach programme designed to encourage and support local students to study STEM subjects.